232 thoughts on “Decline In Hawaii Tourism Starts According To State”
Tim m
Hi guys , Thanks for your informative articles .as a very frequent visitor to Oahu I have noticed the negative changes in Waikiki . Too much crime , too many drug addicts ,and mentally I’ll without their meds . On Nov 1 I was standing in front of my hotel ( near the hyatt Waikiki ) at 12 noon looking at my phone tracking my uber. I was moving to a condo . My bags were 6 inches behind me , a big heavy duffel bag and a small computer size bag . The uber pulled up and my smaller bag was gone . A driver had seen a woman take it . I noticed when I stayed at that hotel in may they lock the front door at night , you need to knock to get in .
I’ve heard of the problems but Thankfully haven’t experienced any yet. A couple of times I was aware of someone paying more attention to my things than I was but nothing occurred. Maybe it’s my due diligence, maybe my look of go ahead and get hurt, I can’t be sure. Downtown, name the City or Town, and it’s becoming a bit treacherous. Waikiki finally has a constant, large, police presence and they’re very active! It’s been out of control for so long. Good to see some changes, Protection!
We lived in Hawaii for many years. The cost of living and quality of life on Oahu was why we left. Even so, we still have a place on the North Shore and like to visit once a year. Generally, we head into town a couple of nights before we leave. We will not stay in Waikiki because of the exorbitant costs that you have mentioned above. Resort and parking fees on top of room prices are the reason why. They definitely have priced themselves out of the market and are losing a lot of guests who would stay at the properties. It would be nice to see fewer tourists, but the economy depends on them. I don’t know which would be better, empty rooms or reasonable prices. Either way many people’s livelihoods depend on people visiting Hawaii. Thanks
The Folks In Charge have a grip on Everything and it’s out of control. I do Believe that shortly Hawaii will be seeing New Tourists from Asia and Surrounds. New means More Money Spent on Average, More Time Share Sales, Home Sales and the like. More Residents unable to afford rent or buy their own. It’s not going to be a Happy Moment for them. Chase Tourists to Get New Ones, a win/win for the few, and the Governments. Sad Tale, But True.
You know what they say: “Be careful what you wish for…” Take a look at Hawaii specific recessions in the past and you can see the effects. Many tour operators run close to margin and need 93% sold just to break even. Some interisland cruises are giving stuff away to fill the ship! I feel bad for the Mom and Pop operations who made it through COVID and refinanced only to be looking at this. I think the city should consider putting parking rate controls in effect immediately as the rates show up on many search engines. Try searching hotels with free parking. There used to be plenty. I have people who don’t visit just because of that!
Tourism on Maui is overwhelming. The tourists are staying in illegal vacation rentals and are not counted in tourist figures. Now they have started renting camper vans and as keeping in a vehicle is illegal and they are not counted.
Traffic accidents are up. Ocean rescues are up. Airvaced rescues are up. Lost tourist hikers are up. Traffic’s jams are up. Line ups for restaurants are common.
More tourists than ever for Maui.
But the County of Maui still does not shut down illegal vacation rentals and approving vacation rentals in neighborhoods. Resident renters have no where to live.
Where on earth are you getting your information? Most of what you said is false. They have capped vacation rentals and put a moratorium on building new rentals, and even new hotels. What illegal vacation rentals are you talking about? Name one. The county collaborated with the vacation rental agencies and thousands of illegal rentals were shut down this year. They have passed new legislation forbidding sleeping in rented campers on the road as well. All the “are up” things you are repeating aren’t up at all, they are the same numbers as they’ve always been.
The only thing you said that’s remotely true is that renters are having a hard time finding affordable rentals. That is happening all over the country. Maui not special there.
Last time i went i got an air bnb in Kula. The lady lied about the place ( supposed shared house, ie rooms in her house). The bedroom door could not be locked for safekeeping our stuff, and guess where she was staying in the house? The kitchen! There was this Curtin across party of the kitchen and i asked what was being it and she said, oh that’s where i stay. Then she pointed out her landlords were at the adjacent house, and this was to help her pay her rent. Then the porch outside out room was a safety hazard with missing and breaking rotting wood, and the heater advertised, since it’s cooler up there, was broken and she said she’d fix it next day. I can guarantee this was not legal.
I don’t think you know what “legal” means with regards to short-term rentals. Any owner who is able to get a license and a permit and pays the TAT, GET and property taxes can run a short-term rental. There are no inspections required. And with a landlord’s permission, you can turn your rental into a short-term rental. So nothing you said makes the property an illegal short-term rental. It sounds like a terrible rental, especially if it did not appear as advertised, and if so hopefully the reviews online will not only drive down her business, but the platforms she advertises on will shut her down. But that is different than being illegal.
The way to solve the affordable housing problem is to build more affordable housing. The county is working on that but they need to do more. Getting rid of renting luxury condos in Wailea and Ka’anapali are not going to help affordable housing even a little bit.
Some say it’s not true, its stopped, but who knows better than You. It’s the same, almost, on every Island and little to nothing is done about it. People sleeping on the beach or with relatives to rent to Vacationers. Money is great from what I have been told. Camping gear is cheap and reusable. Hawaii, the place of dreams! With Enforcement things would change, jail time would be appropriate, but not happening and no one knows why! Then, where’s the tax and fee money going? Endless unanswered questions abound, ask every Elected Official and Demand Answers, don’t reelect them if they can’t. Demand Better, Hawaii.
I totally understand why visitor to the islands might not return. I live here on the big island and needed to travel over to Oahu. The hotel nightly rate was reasonable on the surface until parking, resort fees, and taxes almost doubled the overall rate. Combine that with renting a car, and it did get extremely expensive
Aloha Guys
Seems to me there is some positive here. Hawaii was the first place that felt safe to travel for many after Covid, we had a lot of visitors that came here as an only option at the time and will now try elsewhere, no harm that. International travel is soon to open up and now there will be room for them. Can’t blame people for feeling ripped off by rental car prices and hotel rates of late so downward pressure on that is good. Hawaii is still the same as it always has been and will soon have a balance of Mainland and International visitors that will enjoy it as much as they ever did.
Amid Hawaii’s tourism roller-coaster economy and hopes for a more stable balance between tourist dearth and over – abundance and the resulting feast or famine for those Kama Aina whose livelihood depends upon tourism income, please keep in mind the wise words of Don Ho, “It ain’t just the rain that keeps Hawaii green!” JimE
Those companies feeding off the tourists, rental cars, hotels, restaurants, etc., are laughing uproariously as they troop to the bank. I’ve seen hotel rates 30-50+ percent above usual, never mind rental cars! People will put up with that for only so long, then they will find better deals elsewhere. You are right, HI has a ‘love-hate’ relationship with tourists, don’t know if there is a good resolution to it. Too many hotels brings too many people, but provides jobs to a state with little to no industry. What to do?
If I didn’t have a timeshare, I wouldn’t return. I don’t like being gouged!
Everyone throughout the United States went through the same thing. You all received money from the Feral Government. Whether Ige helped businesses or not I don’t know. Very little help reached small businesses. Most Businesses were shut down, renter’s received an enormous Holiday of not paying rent without being tossed out. That just ended in March for everyone. Plenty of people benefited, big business too, but some were really left holding the bag, like Me. Now that things are screwed up more than ever, Hawaii needs to spend the Federal Billions on Housing for residents, no excuses, and get people back to work. No Free Stuff if you’re able to Work!
It is getting to the point where cost becomes a factor. Car rental costs need to come down. Our accommodation the past two years doubled rates for next year so we looked elsewhere. For us most of our time is spent on essentially free activities such as snorkeling, birding, and such. Since we stay in condos we eat in most often and utilize the Farmer’s Markets. This comes from 40+ years experience. But, if you come to the islands to be entertained, fed, and such then the prices are becoming much more important and will lead to changes.
Hi guys , Thanks for your informative articles .as a very frequent visitor to Oahu I have noticed the negative changes in Waikiki . Too much crime , too many drug addicts ,and mentally I’ll without their meds . On Nov 1 I was standing in front of my hotel ( near the hyatt Waikiki ) at 12 noon looking at my phone tracking my uber. I was moving to a condo . My bags were 6 inches behind me , a big heavy duffel bag and a small computer size bag . The uber pulled up and my smaller bag was gone . A driver had seen a woman take it . I noticed when I stayed at that hotel in may they lock the front door at night , you need to knock to get in .
Hi Tim.
Thanks for your many comments. We’re sorry to hear about your experience.
Aloha.
I’ve heard of the problems but Thankfully haven’t experienced any yet. A couple of times I was aware of someone paying more attention to my things than I was but nothing occurred. Maybe it’s my due diligence, maybe my look of go ahead and get hurt, I can’t be sure. Downtown, name the City or Town, and it’s becoming a bit treacherous. Waikiki finally has a constant, large, police presence and they’re very active! It’s been out of control for so long. Good to see some changes, Protection!
We lived in Hawaii for many years. The cost of living and quality of life on Oahu was why we left. Even so, we still have a place on the North Shore and like to visit once a year. Generally, we head into town a couple of nights before we leave. We will not stay in Waikiki because of the exorbitant costs that you have mentioned above. Resort and parking fees on top of room prices are the reason why. They definitely have priced themselves out of the market and are losing a lot of guests who would stay at the properties. It would be nice to see fewer tourists, but the economy depends on them. I don’t know which would be better, empty rooms or reasonable prices. Either way many people’s livelihoods depend on people visiting Hawaii. Thanks
Hawaii folks in Charge ….
R Yes blowing it !!!
Long time yearly visitor since 1985
– saying Adios >>>
due to the folks
In Charge 👎
B. R.
The Folks In Charge have a grip on Everything and it’s out of control. I do Believe that shortly Hawaii will be seeing New Tourists from Asia and Surrounds. New means More Money Spent on Average, More Time Share Sales, Home Sales and the like. More Residents unable to afford rent or buy their own. It’s not going to be a Happy Moment for them. Chase Tourists to Get New Ones, a win/win for the few, and the Governments. Sad Tale, But True.
Strength of the dollar may have something to say about that.
You know what they say: “Be careful what you wish for…” Take a look at Hawaii specific recessions in the past and you can see the effects. Many tour operators run close to margin and need 93% sold just to break even. Some interisland cruises are giving stuff away to fill the ship! I feel bad for the Mom and Pop operations who made it through COVID and refinanced only to be looking at this. I think the city should consider putting parking rate controls in effect immediately as the rates show up on many search engines. Try searching hotels with free parking. There used to be plenty. I have people who don’t visit just because of that!
Tourism on Maui is overwhelming. The tourists are staying in illegal vacation rentals and are not counted in tourist figures. Now they have started renting camper vans and as keeping in a vehicle is illegal and they are not counted.
Traffic accidents are up. Ocean rescues are up. Airvaced rescues are up. Lost tourist hikers are up. Traffic’s jams are up. Line ups for restaurants are common.
More tourists than ever for Maui.
But the County of Maui still does not shut down illegal vacation rentals and approving vacation rentals in neighborhoods. Resident renters have no where to live.
Where on earth are you getting your information? Most of what you said is false. They have capped vacation rentals and put a moratorium on building new rentals, and even new hotels. What illegal vacation rentals are you talking about? Name one. The county collaborated with the vacation rental agencies and thousands of illegal rentals were shut down this year. They have passed new legislation forbidding sleeping in rented campers on the road as well. All the “are up” things you are repeating aren’t up at all, they are the same numbers as they’ve always been.
The only thing you said that’s remotely true is that renters are having a hard time finding affordable rentals. That is happening all over the country. Maui not special there.
Last time i went i got an air bnb in Kula. The lady lied about the place ( supposed shared house, ie rooms in her house). The bedroom door could not be locked for safekeeping our stuff, and guess where she was staying in the house? The kitchen! There was this Curtin across party of the kitchen and i asked what was being it and she said, oh that’s where i stay. Then she pointed out her landlords were at the adjacent house, and this was to help her pay her rent. Then the porch outside out room was a safety hazard with missing and breaking rotting wood, and the heater advertised, since it’s cooler up there, was broken and she said she’d fix it next day. I can guarantee this was not legal.
I don’t think you know what “legal” means with regards to short-term rentals. Any owner who is able to get a license and a permit and pays the TAT, GET and property taxes can run a short-term rental. There are no inspections required. And with a landlord’s permission, you can turn your rental into a short-term rental. So nothing you said makes the property an illegal short-term rental. It sounds like a terrible rental, especially if it did not appear as advertised, and if so hopefully the reviews online will not only drive down her business, but the platforms she advertises on will shut her down. But that is different than being illegal.
The way to solve the affordable housing problem is to build more affordable housing. The county is working on that but they need to do more. Getting rid of renting luxury condos in Wailea and Ka’anapali are not going to help affordable housing even a little bit.
You get the government you vote for….next time….
Some say it’s not true, its stopped, but who knows better than You. It’s the same, almost, on every Island and little to nothing is done about it. People sleeping on the beach or with relatives to rent to Vacationers. Money is great from what I have been told. Camping gear is cheap and reusable. Hawaii, the place of dreams! With Enforcement things would change, jail time would be appropriate, but not happening and no one knows why! Then, where’s the tax and fee money going? Endless unanswered questions abound, ask every Elected Official and Demand Answers, don’t reelect them if they can’t. Demand Better, Hawaii.
I totally understand why visitor to the islands might not return. I live here on the big island and needed to travel over to Oahu. The hotel nightly rate was reasonable on the surface until parking, resort fees, and taxes almost doubled the overall rate. Combine that with renting a car, and it did get extremely expensive
Aloha Guys
Seems to me there is some positive here. Hawaii was the first place that felt safe to travel for many after Covid, we had a lot of visitors that came here as an only option at the time and will now try elsewhere, no harm that. International travel is soon to open up and now there will be room for them. Can’t blame people for feeling ripped off by rental car prices and hotel rates of late so downward pressure on that is good. Hawaii is still the same as it always has been and will soon have a balance of Mainland and International visitors that will enjoy it as much as they ever did.
Amid Hawaii’s tourism roller-coaster economy and hopes for a more stable balance between tourist dearth and over – abundance and the resulting feast or famine for those Kama Aina whose livelihood depends upon tourism income, please keep in mind the wise words of Don Ho, “It ain’t just the rain that keeps Hawaii green!” JimE
Those companies feeding off the tourists, rental cars, hotels, restaurants, etc., are laughing uproariously as they troop to the bank. I’ve seen hotel rates 30-50+ percent above usual, never mind rental cars! People will put up with that for only so long, then they will find better deals elsewhere. You are right, HI has a ‘love-hate’ relationship with tourists, don’t know if there is a good resolution to it. Too many hotels brings too many people, but provides jobs to a state with little to no industry. What to do?
If I didn’t have a timeshare, I wouldn’t return. I don’t like being gouged!
No one complained or stepped forward to help the tourist industry when covid lock downs nearly decimated it and all the unemployed Hawaiian citizens.
Folks conveniently ignore that reality.
I would think all got money from the Govt?
Everyone throughout the United States went through the same thing. You all received money from the Feral Government. Whether Ige helped businesses or not I don’t know. Very little help reached small businesses. Most Businesses were shut down, renter’s received an enormous Holiday of not paying rent without being tossed out. That just ended in March for everyone. Plenty of people benefited, big business too, but some were really left holding the bag, like Me. Now that things are screwed up more than ever, Hawaii needs to spend the Federal Billions on Housing for residents, no excuses, and get people back to work. No Free Stuff if you’re able to Work!
No one complained or stepped forward to help the tourist industry when covid lock downs nearly decimated it and all the unemployed Hawaiian citizens.
Folks conveniently ignore that reality.
It is getting to the point where cost becomes a factor. Car rental costs need to come down. Our accommodation the past two years doubled rates for next year so we looked elsewhere. For us most of our time is spent on essentially free activities such as snorkeling, birding, and such. Since we stay in condos we eat in most often and utilize the Farmer’s Markets. This comes from 40+ years experience. But, if you come to the islands to be entertained, fed, and such then the prices are becoming much more important and will lead to changes.
The marketplace will adjust all pricing to a new equilibrium.